Macubana is easily one of my favorite spots in Ames. If you're into mac & cheese with serious flavor and creativity, this place doesn't miss. The Original Mac Bowl is my go-to super rich, cheesy, and filling in the best way. And if you want to switch it up, the Tempura Mac is next level spicy, crispy, golden on the outside, and totally over-the-top in a good way. Every time I go here, I'm so full I'm sick of pasta noodles for a week and yet I always come back. That says everything. It's part bar, so depending on when you go, it can be chill or kind of rowdy, but that's part of the vibe. Honestly, it's one of the best casual date spots in Ames if you want somewhere fun and a little different. It's also great with friends or just rolling solo when you want to eat like you mean it. Food's always on point, service is solid, and the menu has enough range to keep things interesting. Definitely worth checking out if you're in town and want something that hits comfort food cravings hard. read more

Macubana - Original Mac Bowl - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

The help- very nice and friendly. The food- not so good, which is a bummer because I've been wanting to try this place for quite awhile. I kept it simple- fries and an empanada. Perhaps I ordered the wrong things? Fries were hot but tasteless, served with a side of what seemed like mayo? Empanada shredded beef filling was chewy and flavorless, the best part about it was the fried shell, not sure of the sauce served with it, but it was also nothing to rave about. I got a side of chipotle ketchup and that was decent. So....I can cross this one off of my "try it" list with no plans to return. Bummer. read more

Advertised a vegan option...sounded delicious, so we came. Fortunately, I asked about the Belgium fries that came with the meal. They are cooked in the oil with the chicken. The waitress was kind, but we had to leave to go somewhere else. Nice atmosphere. Disappointed. read more

Pretty decent. Server was friendly and helpful. Great Mac n cheese and sandwiches. Menu is full of Carbs, Mac n cheese in multiple varieties and the two times I've been here it's pretty legit. I like it. Just feel like eh after I leave because of all the cheese, pasta and the yummy bread. Then I had a beer on top of it in a cold glass which was good too. Not much more of an option than this tbh. So if that's your thing then this is a great pick. I had the tomato basil Mac this time and it was good. Everyone liked their meals in our group of 6. Walking distance to campus. read more

Macubana - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

This place is horrible. Fries are too salty and they don't let you hit your vape in there. Never coming back!

Amazing and fun styles of Mac and cheese, Gyro's. One long island ice tea will get you feeling great. Fun restaurant to eat and with great service! read more

Super good food and drinks. The long islands are always made really well and get the job done . If you are looking for a place to eat and get a drink or two then macubana is the place for you. Service is a hit or miss read more

Macubana - Tomato Basil Mozzarella - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

ABSOLUTELY loved this place. Went on a Saturday night, was seated right away, had the nicest waitress AND loved my meal. I love Cafe B so I had high expectations checking out Macubana too. Met allllll the expectations. Had to give the Mac a try, I mean it is Macubana after all. Opted for the pesto mac "The Hulk Mac-Bowl" (no jalapeño for this girl) but it tasted SO GOOD. Also had the peach Long Island, YUM. The friend I was with got the gyro and a different long island. We loved our meals and drinks. Our waitress was so kind and attentive. Sometimes staff minds if you overstay your welcome but even after a couple hours she kept coming back to refill our water and we didn't feel rushed at all. My meal and drink was $17 before tax and tip but think it was worth it. I'll for sure be back here. read more

Macubana - Pesto Mac - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Whenever I have a ridiculous mac and cheese craving, I always stop here. Their mac and cheese is incredibly rich and cheesy, definitely hits the spot. Besides mac bowls, they have some options from their sister restaurant, Cafe B. And a breakfast menu. They also have a lot of drinks including wine, tea, alcohol, coffee, you name it. Their house wine is also only $4 and they have three different kinds, which is awesome. My favorite Mac and Cheese bowls are the original bowl or the garlic witch. After having those, I don't think I can have generic krafts mac and cheese again. The building used to be a coffee shop called Arcadia, still has the same furniture and layout, just switched to having more bar stools. There's reserved Arcadia customer parking spots in the back alley, not sure when they'll change those but for the meanwhile they're convenient parking spots. The service is okay, everyone's friendly but they do take their time with handing out the bill. read more

Macubana - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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Cute restaurant located on Welch. I was surprised to see it had a full bar. DH had the Italian grilled cheese. It was suppose to come with soup but he substituted fries. Sandwich was on sourdough. DH said it meat and cheese was quality and fries were seasoned perfectly. DD has the carbonara mac bowl. Lots of bacon and super creamy! She very much enjoyed it and would order again. At the point she was ready to be done, she found a short black hair in her noodles. She was happy it was towards the end versus in the beginning. I had the hulk mac bowl. The creamy pesto was very good and the jalapeño was just the right touch of spicy. I added the pulled pork. The flavor was very good but a touch over done. The side of sour dough was a nice touch. Overall the food was very good! Giving it four stars due to the hair in one of the dishes. Definitely would go back and try it again. read more

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Hands down, the best Mac and Cheese in town - my go-to spot for buffalo chicken mac! The balance of creamy cheese and perfectly crispy breaded chicken is spot on. My only small critique is that I prefer a little more buffalo sauce - just enough to add a subtle kick without overpowering the dish. That said, it's still a solid 9.5/10. Can't recommend it enough type beat read more

Slow service. Don't get fooled by the vibe, it's fast food. The poutine was just cheese fries with no gravy or cheese curds, what a shame. The waitress was slow, but very kind. I would not come back ever again, go somewhere with fresh food and not a fresh concept. read more

Excellent place for Latin American fare with a success story to boot! Came here for brunch, lunch, and dinner in the past and was never disappointed! The Mac and cheese is the restaurant's magnum opus and the poutine is heavenly! Sandwiches are great and so are the London fogs and coffees! Will definitely visit again once I return to Ames! Glad to see Macubana's success as both a food truck and a restaurant! read more

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I waited with an empty water glass for over 5 minutes while the bartender and server chatted about their love life The server was wearing a ratty T shirt and sweatpants. The food was pretty good. I got the tomato basil mac and it was good, just took a while to get as well. The restaurant was not busy at all, only 1 table of 2. Overall, I don't think I will be returning anytime soon read more

The food was very good but the flies were out of control. Again. Second time - hoping the flies were a one-time thing. Nope. Please fix the fly situation!! read more

Our waiter was also yummy looking! Give a try, they go to the farmers market on Saturdays! read more

Macubana - Yummy! Beef brisket w pork belly slices mac n cheese! Drink was yummy! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Macubana was a really good food truck so I was excited to try the restaurant. Food is just ok. Yucca fries are my favorite but portions vary each time I order them. One time I'll get 11 fries and the next time I'll get 4 thick fries... inconsistent... in my opinion the food is also a little overpriced. I feel like everyone goes mainly for the drinks, they have multiple variations of long islands. They are tasty and strong if you like Long Island iced teas. read more

Had takeout from her while in town. This was an awesome meal. We got one original and one garlic and this is a place we will certainly come back to. The location is great from campus and while the inside seems a little small it had a really cool vibe to it. Loved the big door to the outside, really opens up the feel of the place. read more

Long awaited visit. As a Cafe B addict we wanted to try. Didn't disappoint. 2 pasta dishes and the buffalo chicken grilled cheese and Long Island to go! The sandwich looked best of all. Great fries too. Will go back for sure. read more

Ordered the chicken strips, poutine, garlic mac, and gyro. Chicken strips were old and frozen. Poutine tasted like jarred alfredo, barely any cheese curds. Garlic mac was not seasoned and full of grease, noodles were overcooked You can find a better gyro at the state fair For $40 you can get a far better experience at any fast food. read more

This place is good but not great honestly you could probably make something better at home. Not a lot of flavor and just overall average at best. read more

Great mac and cheese! Chill atmosphere with good indie pop/rock music. Perfect stop for anyone hanging out on Welch.

This was a great, quick stop in Ames! Smaller food selection but everything we had was delicious. I loved their fries and mayo. read more

Macubana - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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"This is literally the most incredible food I've ever had" - My Girlfriend Apps 10/10 Service 10/10 Atmosphere 10/10 Drinks 10/10 Meals 10/10 If this hasn't been on every Food Network show, it should be! read more

Holy crap what a hidden gem in Ames, loved the dive bar/restaurant atmosphere inside, enjoyed some delicious Cubanos and martinis with my girlfriend on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Totally recommend coming here for dinner or lunch. read more

Good food and service. The Long Islands are a great price for what you are getting. Although I think their house cocktails are even better. One of the only places in Ames you can get a late night bite. Their kitchen is open until 1:30 am. read more

I recently visited this restaurant and unfortunately had a disappointing experience. The manager took over 10 minutes to take my order, which resulted in us leaving. It was frustrating and definitely affected the overall service. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and works on improving their efficiency especially when a bunch of the coworkers are sitting cracking jokes at the bar and not working. read more

one word: wow. this place his a hidden gem. i was a bit skeptical after hearing it was a food truck turned restaurant but that was a mistake on my part. this place is great! it is the "sister restaurant" of Cafe Beaudelaire. they have a nice long island tea bar and i can personally vouch for the hawiian tea. very good. i've stopped in twice now and i haven't been disappointed. i tried the chicken cubano and it was delicious! full of flavor! the fries were perfectly crisp and seasoned. SO good! on my second visit, i opted for the buffalo chicken grilled cheese which was also amazing. just enough kick and spice. during both visits, i ordered the poutine fries and OMG YES. [maybe avoid them if you're lactose intolerant haha] they are covered in melted cheese and alfedo sauce and are served in a piping hot mini cast iron skillet. even though each item is under $10, it's easy to rack up a bill but it's totally worth it! read more

Macubana - poutine fries! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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This place is worth checking out on Welch Ave! It cured my mac and cheese craving in an instant, along with their long islands and other craft cocktails, it's a great spot to try! Ordered the mac and cheese grilled cheese, so yummy! It's a bit pricey, but considering it's origin story of once being a food truck business, I give them major props! Great service, looking forward to coming back when I'm back in Ames! read more

Honestly it's been really cool to see this place go from a food truck to a restaurant! The guy who started it worked really hard and I hope nothing but the best for him ( not sure if there was anyone else who helped in this process), any ways the food here is great! Think macaroni and cheese but way better, your able to customize your meals by adding different things to it like pulled pork, chicken, and whatever they have to add-on on the menu haha. I'm not sure what it will be like in the cooler months, but as it's warm they open up their doors, which gives it this feeling of sitting outside! If you're in campus town definitely check this place out. read more

Nice atmosphere and good Cuban sandwiches. Pair it with a strong Cafe Cubano and you are ready to go.

Great food, and also a great place to be funky, spontaneous and extremely wacky!! I threw my bread and didn't get told to leave (this happens a lot...) all in all reaaally good experience. scrumpy eats for sure! read more

Macubana - Yum Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Fries - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Had high expectations going in but was very underwhelmed with the overall taste of the mac and cheese dishes. ordered the Peach Long Island, Creamy Pesto, and Buffalo Chicken. read more

Went here after looking at menu online and was excited to try some vegan/plant based options. Yelp listed a vegan grilled cheese but they no longer offered it as we found out. They also had a vegan Cuban sandwich but they were out of that as well. Only other option was a bean burger which was pretty good. We'll give it another try when we're back in town and hopefully they will have everything for us to try. read more

Used to love this place, unfortunately the change of staff lead to terrible time management and food quality. terrible sarcastic customer service. waited 45 minutes for a single burger. poor customer service. sadly will never go back again. read more

The customer service was awful. I ordered online and went to pick up my affogato and grilled cheese, and when I saw the affogato was melted, I asked if they could replace it and they said because it is a dish that melts quickly, I should've known better. I asked then if I could get a new one but I'd eat it in their dining room, they said they would have to charge me again. The buffalo chicken grilled cheese was good but a little soggy as expected from them, and their aioli was bland and basically mayo in a cup. The fries were really good, but overall will not be eating there again if they keep hiring people like that. read more

Absolutely pathetic. Ordered last night and got 2 appetizers. The Poutine fries which was $6 and got this (picture). That's less than a side dish but is served as a appetizer. Then we got the 4 empanadas appetizer and only received one. I called and asked about it and their only response was "the menu is a typo, it's only suppose to be one" how are people suppose to share an appetizer of only 1 empanada. That's the whole point of an appetizer. read more

Macubana - Poutine appetizer - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ames, Iowa

This place sucked - service was bad, HORRIBLE actually and I felt so sick after eating the Mack attack sticks. Heard good things. So disappointed read more

All the Mac and cheese you could want. But I recommend the grilled cheese and tomato soup. I usually don't eat tomato soup but I do eat it here. read more

This place is so much more than Mac and cheese! I had the buffalo chicken grilled cheese with a cup of tomato bisque and it was incredible. It tasted just like buffalo chicken should and the soup made a tasty dipping sauce. My only regret was I gave up alcohol for lent and couldn't partake of the Long Island bar! read more